Such Makeup. Much Haul. Shiro Anniversary swatches and review. Wow.

Wow.

 Post ahead. Such eyeshadow contained within. Much sparkle. Very pics.

Assorted Shiro shadows from my collection.

I no longer live in the US o' A now, as I've recently moved to Finland to take entrance exams for nursing school and be with my adorable girlfriend, who cooks good fried eggs. (I'm spoiled with fried eggs for breakfast every morning, I eat so much better here I've actually lost weight.) In spite of my overseas status, shipping wasn't too bad, around seven dollars. Shiro's new website allows me to bill my US address for bank purposes but ship to my Finnish address, which I appreciate, since Etsy and Paypal do not offer this option, for some reason I have yet to figure out.

Shiro was working overtime and because I got my order in early (heck yeah, timezone advantage!!!) my order was shipped in about a week and arrived pretty fast. It felt like barely any time considering it was overseas shipping, I think it maybe took about 6 days or so. (I THINK, I don't quite remember how many days it was exactly as I wasn't counting. I hadn't expected it so quickly!

Caitlin included the usual gift of candy, which was great, because she gave me Smarties and Starburst. My girlfriend had never had either, so I took the opportunity to show her what REAL Smarties taste like (they're not chocolate, you crazy, UK?) and made her try Starburst too. Bless you, Caitlin, cause you didn't just offer me eyeshadow but also a little bit of fun. AMERICAN fun. AMERICA.

Anyways, on to the swatches:

Doge is a lovely creamy and shimmery light pink. I am in love with this shade, applied over primer with a fluffy brush it creates a soft and slightly shimmery wash of color that's great to just throw on for a low-maintenance look. Applied over a sticky base it becomes much more foiled and takes on a rose-y look.

Foiled over Pixie Epoxy, in natural light.

Starting from wrist and going down: Doge over UDPP & Pixie Epoxy combo, Doge over UDPP, Doge over bare skin.

The Fourth Be With You is one of Shiro's two CotMs for May. It was free with an anniversary purchase over $15.00, so I was able to get it in my order for free! It's a buttery, shimmery lime green with lots of green sparkle. Caitlin said she wanted it to look like "lightsaber green" and I think she did a great job! It looks intimidating, and to be honest when I first saw it on the site I thought 'oh I'll never wear that...' but in person it really tempted me. Over a sticky base it gets really bright and shimmery, but over just primer or bare skin it takes on a much softer wash of green that I think is easy to wear as a pop of color in a bright look.

Fourth Be With You over UDPP & Pixie Epoxy combo under indoor lighting.

Starting from wrist and going down: FBWT over combo of UDPP & Pixie Epoxy, FBWT over just UDPP, FBWT over bare skin.

Mockingjay was one of the two samples I received free with my order. It's a rich bronze gold. It's a simple color, but a beautiful one. It's the kind of staple everyone should have because it's quite versatile. I was disappointed that it wasn't quite as dense on bare skin, so for maximum punch make sure to use a primer.

Starting from the wrist down: Mockingjay over Pixie Epoxy & UDPP combo, Mockingjay over UDPP, Mockingjay over bare skin.

Mockingjay over Pixie Epoxy & UDPP combo under indoor lighting.

From the top: Mockingjay over UDPP & PE compared to Shiro's When the Thrush Knocks over UDPP & PE. In natural light.

Topiary is the second sample I received. It's a newer addition to Shiro's site, as it is one of the Detrivore shadows they recently added. I had not been into indie makeup when Detrivore was active, but they have a crazy wonderful range of mattes on Shiro now, which are made by Caitlin and team in-house using the recipes from Detrivore's owner.

Topiary, with it's appropriate name, is, of course, taupe! It's a nice slightly pink taupe with a bit of silver sparkle that adds sheen but doesn't overwhelm the matte quality. I love it as a base shade for neutral or no-makeup looks, as well as a crease definer over primer when I'm wearing fancy cat liner over a bare lid. It's very smooth and not at all chalky or hard to blend or sweep over the lid. This was a shade I almost bought, so I'm happy Caitlin gave me a surprise sample of it! (She's psychic I swear.)

Starting from top: Topiary over UDPP, Topiary over bare skin. In natural light.

My haul also included two custom lipglosses, both of which I am very pleased with.

Custom glosses in Cyanide and I Loved a Maid.

I reviewed them here in this imgur album, so please give it a click to learn more! (I apologize for not re-posting the text here but this post is long enough as is, phew!)

Thank you for plowing through this haul post with me, I hope you enjoyed the swatches! Shiro is worth ordering from even when they're not having a sale, and they're extremely affordable for the quality and diversity of their products.

Check Shiro out here.